Electrical switch and socket-key.



No. 839,519. PATENTED DEC. 25, 1906. H. L. SMITH.

ELECTRICAL SWITCH AND SOCKET KEY.

APPLIGATION FILED FEB.15,1906.

WITNESSES l/VlQf/VTQH 4 films. W W 4551/ ,4 TTORNE Y unirnn STATES mannacaries.

HERBERT LQ SMITH, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. ASSIGNOR TO THESlEMONsHARD RUBBER CORPORATION, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONN ECTICUT, ACORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

ELECTRICAL SWETCH AND SOCKET-KEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2 5, 1906.

Application filed February 15, 1906- Serial No. 301,288-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT L. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bridgeport, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, haveinvented a new and useful Electrical Switch and Socket-Key, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide electrical switch andsocket-keys which shall be simple and inexpensive to produce, neat andattractive in appearance, which may be molded from either a vulcanizableor a nonvulcanizable compound, and which shall be so constructed as torender breakage of the keys and twisting of the keys off from themandrels or shanks practically impossible under the ordinary conditionsof use.

Heretofore it has been the practice to fiatten the key ends of themandrels before molding the keys thereon. Keys made in this manner,however, have not proved satisfactory, owing to the fact that unlessmade from averytough compound, they were liable to break easily ifdropped and broke frequently in use, and, furthermore, that no matterfrom what kind of a compound they were molded they frequently becameloose and turned on the mandrels or shanks, thus rendering the keysuseless and requiring that new ones he provided.

My present invention wholly overcomes these objections and enables me toprovide electrical switch and socket -keys which, owing tothe peculiarconstruction of the inner ends of the Inandrels or shanks, may be moldedfrom relatively inexpensive compounds, thus effecting a great saving inthe cost of production and producing keys that are neat and attractivein appearance, will not break easily when dropped, will not break underthe ordinary conditions of use, and cannot turn or become loose on themandrels or shanks.

With these and other objects in view I have devised the novel switch andsocket-key of which the following description, in connection with theaccompanyings drawing, is a specification, reference characters beingused to indicate the several parts.

Figure 1 is an elevation of an electrical switch. or socket-keyembodying my novel improvement Fig. 2, a section of the key in thedirection of its greater dimension, showing the mandrel in sideelevation; and Fig. 3

i is a section at right angles to the section-line in Fig. 2, showingthe split in the key end of the mandrel and the manner in which therections in the plane of the cut, as clearly.

shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the out being indicated by 12 and the separatedparts of the end of the mandrel by 13. Having pre ared the mandrels bysplitting the ends and ending the parts outward in o posite directionsin the plane of the cut, t e key is molded thereon in the usual manner.Owing to the fact, however, that the separated parts of the end of themandrel extend Well outward into the wings of the key, as clearly shownin Fig. 2, it is rendered impossible for the key to turn on the mandrelin use and practically impossible for the key to break, even when droped or when subjected to the hardest kind of usage.

The bending outward of the split parts of the key in the plane of thecut, as described, results in the portion which extends into each wingbeing only one-half the thickness of the portion which forms the stem orshank. Therefore the wings of the key can be very thin, and still notresult in exposure 'ofthe edges ofthe outwardly-bent portions of thereinforce.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- Switch and socket-keyscomprising a man'- drel having the key end split and the parts thereofbent outward in opposite directions in the plane of the cut, and a keyformed from a suitable compound and molded thereon, the separated partsof the end of the mandrel extending well outward into the wings HERBERTL. SMITH.

Witnesses A. M. VVOOSTER, S. W. Arnnnrou.

